Returning Players
Returning Players in Survivor offer the opportunity for former contestants to return for another shot at becoming the Sole Survivor. Although there is no limit to how many times a contestant may return, BENLINUS has stated that he feels a player taking part more than four times feels "too much", but is open to the prospect of letting some people play an unlimited amount of times. Returning Player Formats All Star Season All Star seasons feature a cast made up entirely of returning players, first seen in Survivor: Santa Carolina - All Stars, where eighteen returning players were split up into three tribes. Survivor: Arabia contestant Newz ultimately won the season over fellow Arabia player Justin in a landslide 7-1 vote. The All-Stars twist once again returned for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, where twenty returning players were sorted into two tribes based off their heroic or villainous reputations. Three Heroes made the final tribal council, with Survivor: Belize winner Ben being crowned the Sole Survivor for a second time in a 7-2-1 vote. Survivor: Solomon Islands runner-up Patrick once again finished in second place, with Jordan of Survivor: Arabia and Survivor: Hong Kong finishing in third place. One Returnee Per Tribe This twist brings back two-four returning players, allocating each one to a tribe so that they may compete against one another alongside new players. The returning players typically have something in common, whether they were rivals, allies or are both looking for redemption from a low placement. The twist was first used in Survivor: Arabia, in which Natalie of Survivor: Ecuador and Qaz of Survivor: The Gambia returned to redeem themselves from placing pre-jury in their original seasons. Both managed to reach the jury, achieving their redemption, although neither made it to the final tribal council. It reappeared once again in Survivor: Nigeria, in which four players who left by unusual means returned for a second chance in the game. Disqualified Survivor: Tonga contestant Trae and Occultus Island victor Leo of Survivor: Solomon Islands were booted in 15th and 14th place respectively. Survivor: Malaysia rock tiebreaker victim Brady was ousted at his first tribal council upon reaching the merge, finishing in tenth place. Evacuated Survivor: Solomon Islands alumni Max C. was planned to be the fourth returnee, but ultimately failed to accept the invite on time. Each Tribe Half Returnees In this type of returning player season, each tribe consists of half returning players alongside half newbies. This can mean anywhere between two-five returning players are on each tribe. It was first seen in Survivor: Hong Kong, in which nine returnees were split amongst three tribes, all looking for redemption having placed pre-jury on their first time playing. Survivor: Tonga contestant Jon ultimately won the season over Chris of Survivor: Vietnam in a 6-2 vote. Returnees versus Newbies In this type of returning player season, one tribe consisted of returning players is pitted against a tribe of newbies. The typical theme for this returning player format is Fans vs. Favorites. It was first utilized in Survivor: Melanesia - Fans vs. Favorites, in which ten "favorites" were brought back to get another shot at winning the game. Each favorite was selected due to being viewed favorably by the host, but all were unable to win during their first time playing. The group played against ten "fans" of the Survivor game, all taking part in the series for their first time. Survivor: Vietnam favorite Rob was crowned the winner of the season, defeating fan Julian in a 6-3 vote. Returning Players By Season